Inner Voice
by Shattered Reflection
Summary: Rinoa cheats on Squall and wakes up an evil part of him
1. Inner One

I don't own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, and if I did, I wouldn't spend all my time writing this fic about them. I would be out buying myself a life cause I would be filthy rich.   


The Voices in Our Heads T-T   


Squall sat in his room, listening to the angry lyrics and music of KoRn. He pondered over the events of that day and sighed.   
Rinoa. That two-cent whore had been cheating on him with Irvine, who was currently engaged to Selphie.   
_'That traitor. Kill her!' _the familiar voice from inside his head came.   
"No!" he whispered harshly. Rinoa may be a slut, but she still didn't deserve to die.   
_'It would be so easy.' _the voice prompted him, but he ignored it and picked up his gunblade, heading ot the Training Center to let off some steam.   
  
*** 

"Hey Zell, you seen Squall?" Quistis asked Zell, praying that he would swallow all those hot dogs before he answered.   
"Nope." No such luck.   
"That's disgusting!" Quistis said, wrinkling up her nose.   
Zell swallowed. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.   
"That's okay. But where is Squall? I haven't seen him since that big scene with Rinoa and Irvine today," Quistis said, finishing off her salad.   
"Yeah. Can you believe Rinoa tried to get back with him after what she did?" Zell said in disgust.   
"I know! She's all like 'Oh Squall, it was just a misunderstanding! We can still be together, can't we?' I didn't think she could get any lower than sleeping with her best friend's fiancé, but there she goes."   
"Ummhmmm," Zell replied, trying not to gross Quistis out by opening his mouth.   
Irvine ran up to their table and sat down, slamming his fist down on the table.   
"What are_ you_ doing here?" Quistis asked icily. Zell just glared, as his mouth was still full of half-chewed hot dogs.   
"You guys, don't get like that. It wasn't my fault," Irvine began, but was cut off by Quistis.   
"It wasn't your fault! Then who's fault was it? Seifer's? Maybe he stuck his gunblade to your head and _forced_ you to sleep with her!" she yelled, with Zell nodding furiously along beside her.   
"Rinoa convinced me to break it off with Selphie. And she told me that she wasn't with Squall anymore. Really, I wouldn't of got together with her if I knew they were still together. I know how fucked up Squall is," he explained   
"So did you break it off with her?" Zell asked, wiping with ketchup laden chin with Quistis's napkin.   
"Yeah. I realized that I never really wanted to be with her in the first place, I was just missing Selphie so much that I thought I did," Irvine said sadly, thinking of his precious Selphie, who was currently helping to rebuild Trabia Garden.   
"Oh. I didn't know it was like that. Sorry I went all psycho on you," Quistis said, putting a friendly arm around Irvine as he sulked.   
"You gonna eat that hot dog Irv?" Zell asked, reaching for Irvine's untouched food. 

*** 

Squall was sitting on a rock in the Training Center, partially hidden by large ferns and amid recently defeated monsters and gore.   
_'What about Irvine? He's supposed to be your friend. He betrayed you just like everyone else. Don't you think he should pay for that?'_   
"Shut up!" Squall yelled out into the darkness.   
_'Why? You know everything I'm saying is true. You used to listen to me. What happened?'_   
"I was weak then. I can make my own decisions now," Squall muttered.   
_'I don't think you can! You're never sure about anything.' _the voice taunted.   
Squall was about to respond when he saw Rinoa fighting off a monster to the left of him.   
_'Here's your chance! Kill her! She's distracted, and no one is here to see!'_   
Squall felt the urge to rip her from piece to piece coming over him. He tried to fight it, but it was too strong. He got up and walked closer to her, keeping very quiet.   
_'Yes, that's right. Just a little closer. Destroy her! Rip her apart! Do it now you stupid fuck!'_   
Squall took a breath and lunged with his gunblade and stabbed Rinoa through the back, puncturing her lung.   
Rinoa choked on blood and tried to turn around to glimpse her attacker.   
"Squallllll..." she gurgled bloodily, before Squall swung his blade down and cut off her head.   
Even after she was dead, Squall cut her again and again, until she did not even look remotely like a human being anymore.   
Squall stopped after a few minutes, breathing hard and covered in blood.   
Then he realized what he had just done.   
"Oh shit," he whispered, staring at the bloody mass that used to be Rinoa. Savage memories started to invade his mind before they were stopped by the voice.   
_'Good. Very good Squall. Maybe you aren't useless after all. But why should she only die when the world that betrayed you goes totally unpunished? Get revenge on them all for hurting you. Burn Garden. Burn it , along with everyone else . Do it at night. Now go to your room. You need rest.'_   
Squall nodded and walked slowly, almost drone-like back to his room, where he collapsed on his bed into a hellish, nightmare filled sleep.   
  
*** 

"Anyone seen Rinoa or Squall?" Zell asked the table he was sitting at in the library.   
When everyone shook their heads, he got up and decided to look in the Training Center.   
"Squall?" he called into the perpetual dim light of the center.   
He walked fro a few minutes till he spotted Rinoa's blue angel wing coat.   
"Rinoa! You here?" he called, running up to it. And what he saw there he would never forget.   
Rinoa's head lay about a foot from where the mangled mess of what used to be her body was laying. Her clothes were in shreds on top of the mass of flesh, soaked through with blood. Her blue coat was right beside her head, the only part that was not covered in blood.   
Zell stumbled backwards and puked into the nearby ferns. Never in his life, even through all the battles and training, had he ever seen something so disturbing.   
When he was done vomiting, he ran out of the Training Center and into the cafeteria where Irvine and Quistis were having dinner.   
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Irvine asked, seeing his pale skin and the vomit on his shoes.   
"Zell, what's wrong?" Quistis asked, coming to his side and holding him up. He looked like he was about to fall over.   
"Rinoa...dead...Training Center," he gasped out, then passed out cold.   
"Rinoa's dead?! Is that what he said?!" Irvine said, frantically trying to wake Zell up.   
"Nida! Take care of Zell! Come on Irvine!" Quistis ordered, grabbing Irvine's sleeve and running out of the cafeteria. 

*** 

_'Wake up Squall.'_   
Squall woke and immediately forgot all the horrible nightmares he had just had. He had to concentrate on the task at hand.   
_'No, it's not time to burn Garden yet. They found her. The bitch you killed today. They found her and are now looking for you.'_   
"I need to hide then?" Squall asked.   
_'Yes. In the bitch's room. No one will look for you there.'_   
"Okay," he said, then walked out of his dorm and down the hall to Rinoa's room. 

*** 

Uniformed men with gloves on were putting Rinoa's messy remains in a green body bag while students tried to get a glimpse of her.   
"I can't believe it. She had her weapon and all of the most very powerful spells. How could something kill her like this?" Quistis asked sadly.   
"Yeah," Irvine agreed. "Even a T-Rexaur couldn't make that much of a mess of someone. The cuts on her are too narrow to be their claws anyway."   
"So what the hell did it?!" Zell said angrily. Even though she had cheated on his best friend, she was still his friend, and their last words had been spoken in anger. His eyes started to tear and he shut them tightly.   
_"All students and SeeD's go to your dorms. This is an order. Anyone found not in their dorms will be punished. Will Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, and Irvine Kinneas report to the Headmaster's office immediately."_   
The small group got up off the bench and walked out of the Training Center while grumbling students pushed past them. 

***   
  
"Should I go?" Squall asked, sitting on Rinoa's bed and petting Angelo.   
_'Yes. There will be suspicion if you do not go. And I don't want anyone watching you too carefully.'_   
Squall nodded and tossed Angelo a dog biscuit before he walked out the door. 

*** 

"Squall! There you are!" Zell exclaimed when Squall walked into the Headmaster's office.   
"Yeah! Where have you been?" Quistis asked.   
"Around," Squall said emotionlessly.   
"Have you heard what happened yet?" Zell asked.   
_'Pretend you don't know.'_   
"No."   
"Really?! But how could you not know? It's all over Garden and I figured you would be the first to know since you went out with Rinoa," Zell said.   
"Well I don't know. Will you tell me or not?" Squall said.   
"Rinoa's dead. Something in the Training Center ripped her to shreds," Irvine said quietly.   
A hush fell over the four of them for a second, everyone wanting to see how Squall would react.   
"Oh," was all he said.   
"Hello everyone. I'm sure you know why I called you here," Cid said, coming into the room and sitting at his desk.   
"Is it about Rinoa?" Zell asked.   
"Yes. We don't think it was a monster who killed her."   
"You mean you think someone killed her?" Quistis asked in surprise.   
"Precisely. Even though Rinoa was not as skilled as some of you, she was a gifted fighter and nothing in the Training Center could have done that to her."   
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Irvine asked. 

End of Part One T-T   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Inner Two

Don't own nothing. Yet...   
(P.S implications of rape in this one. If you don't like that kind of thing, don't read.) 

(~*~*~*~ = memories) 

Inner Voice T-T   


"Well, we want you to go and find Seifer. He is the key suspect in this case, and we want you to bring him back here for questioning. Now, Rinoa's death has not been made public yet, remember that. I he knows anything about her death that you did not tell him, we'll know he is guilty. Do you accept this mission?" Cid asked them.   
"Accept? Don't we just _have_ to do it?" Zell asked, confused.   
"No, because this is not a normal mission. You won't be paid for it, I just thought you would like to help find Rinoa's killer. So you do not have to accept it if you do not want to."   
"Well, I'm going!" Zell said forcefully.   
"So will I," Quistis added.   
Irvine looked down for a second, then nodded.   
"And you, Squall?" Cid said, for Squall had not spoken yet.   
"No," he replied.   
"What?!" Zell exclaimed.   
"Just because she was cheating on you, your not even going to help us?" Quistis asked.   
"It's not that. I have a lot of work to do. I don't have time to go looking for Seifer," Squall said, starting to walk out the door.   
"Please Squall. We need your help. You knew Seifer better than anyone," Quistis said, holding onto his arm.   
"No," he replied flatly, shaking off her arm and leaving.   
"I can't believe he's not even going to help," Irvine said quietly.   
"Well, onto business. Seifer's last known location is Deling City. Look for him there first. It's unlikely, but he still may be there. You can leave right away if you wish," Cid said.   
"Yes Sir," all three said, then saluted and left. 

*** 

_'So, they are all leaving. That is not good.'_   
"Why?" Squall asked when he was alone in his room again.   
_'They should have been the first to die. But we will get them later, don't worry.'_   
"When should I begin?"   
_'As soon as the Garden Masters call curfew. Then begin. Start in the Training Center.'_   
"Okay," Squall said, then turned on his stereo and waited for 12:00 to come. 

*** 

"Why do you think Squall wouldn't help?" Zell asked, sticking his hand out the window and feeling the fast, cool air run over it.   
"Maybe he really does have lots of work to do. He is taking all those extra classes, and I bet the work really piles up. Especially with him being Commander and all," Irvine said.   
"I don't know. It just seems odd to me," Quistis commented from the front.   
"I know. When we told him about Rinoa, his expression didn't change one little bit. And he said 'Oh,' so casually. It was like he was just listening to someone talk about their trip to the store," Zell said, bringing his now cold hand back inside.   
"Yeah. I knew Squall was kinda cold, but not even he usually acts that heartless," Irvine said, looking out the window, watching the stars flicker overhead.   
"Wish Rinoa or Selphie was here, We all need a little cheering up," Quistis said, thinking of her two optimistic friends, both not there when they were needed the most. 

*** 

"Attention students, it is now curfew. The Training Center is closed for tonight due to... certain circumstances. All students found out of their dorm will be punished," the Garden Master's droning voice came over the intercom.   
"Now? Squall asked.   
_'Yes, go to the Training Center.'_   
"But it is closed for tonight. How am I going to get in?"   
_'Just say you are there to find the monster that killed her. The people guarding the Training Center don't know the Headmaster thinks it was a murder. They will let you in because you are the Commander.'_   
Squall hesitated, rethinking what he was about to do.   
_'Do it NOW!' _the voice commanded, sending him the savage memory of when his mother was killed as a warning.   
_'I could destroy you with some of these memories, never forget that.'_   
Squall got up and left his room, heading for the Training Center. 

*** 

"So where do we start?" Zell asked his friends, looking around at all the tall buildings and apartments Deling had.   
"Well, he was spotted frequently at nightclubs here. Let's start at that one," Quistis suggested, pointing to a large, brightly colored building to the right of them.   
"Okay," Zell said, and the three of them entered the nightclub.   
A few minutes later, the trio walked out.   
"Well, I don't think ever Seifer would go to a place like that," Quistis said, frowning.   
"Yeah. I mean, the people in there were wearing practically nothing, or nothing at all!" Zell exclaimed.   
"Um... yeah, really bad in there," Irvine said throwing a mournful look at the door.   
"Oh be quiet! We all know you wanted to stay," Quistis teased.   
"Did not!" Irvine said non convincingly.   
"Whatever. Let's go to that place now," Zell said, heading to a nondescript building on the end of the street.   
"This is gonna be a long night," Quistis said, hurrying to catch up with Zell. 

*** 

Squall stood alone in the Training Center. He had managed to get past the guards quite easily. They were new SeeD's and much in awe of him.   
_'Now, use your toxic spell then light it with a fire spell. Hurry!'_   
"But, why?" Squall said, beginning to sound like his old self. He was coming out of the voice's grasp.   
_'DO IT!' _the voice commanded, sending him unbearably painful memories until he was completely under control again.   
Squall concentrated until he felt the familiar power flow through him and come out concentrated in his hand.   
_'Good. Now the fire spell. After you do, go to the secret area and jump off the balcony there.'_   
"But it's too high," Squall retorted.   
_'You don't want me to destroy you, do you Squall?' JUST LISTEN!'_   
Squall once again concentrated and felt a rush of power flow through him.   
As soon as the ball of fire from his palm came out, a cloud of fire shot out twenty feet in front of him, starting the ferns and trees on fire and flushing out many unhappy creatures who were asleep in them.   
"What's going on?" Squall heard one of the guards yell, before he was ripped apart by many angry animals.   
_'Go now.'_   
Squall then hurried off into the darkness, leaving the fire to spread. 

*** 

"Is that him? Oh... never mind. It's a girl."   
"Zell! Your elbow is jabbing into my stomach!"   
"Whoops! Sorry Quistis! It's too dark in here."   
"Let's get out of here."   
Quistis, Irvine and Zell tumbled out of a small nightclub, filled to the brim with people.   
"Woah. I don't know how people can even _move _in there, let alone dance," Irvine said, picking his hat up off the ground.   
"Yeah. Well, there's the last place. Over there," Quistis said, pointing to a classy building across the street.   
"If he's not in here, we'll report back to the Headmaster and talk about where he should search next," Irvine said, jogging across the street and narrowly avoiding two cars.   
"Wait up!" Zell called after him, preferring to use the crosswalk. He was not used to getting around in a city, and could not dodge the traffic as easily as the others could.   
"Zell, you gotta be quicker than that if we want to find Seifer sometime in the next year," Irvine said when Zell finally got across the busy street.   
"Well _sorry_ if I don't want to end up a pancake," Zell said.   
"Oh stop bickering," Quistis said, walking into the fancy building.   
"Yeah townie," Irvine said, following her.   
Zell glared at Irvine's retreating back for a few seconds, then rushed in before the doors closed behind him. 

*** 

Squall sat on the dew wet grass of the field and watched the Garden become slowly engulfed by flames. A part of him wanted to go in immediately and put out the fire somehow, but that part was being squashed by the part that forced him to relish the fire, in all it's destructive glory.   
_'Very good. Very, very gooooood,' _the voice hissed, snapping him out of his trance.   
"What do I do now?" he asked, getting up and brushing himself off.   
_'Head for Esthar. He ruined your whole life. It's his fault your so fucked up.'_   
"You mean Laguna? But, Ellone loves him. I don't want to hurt her," Squall said, shaking his head and trying to refuse the voice's cruel words.   
_'You WILL do it.'_   
"No!" Squall shouted.   
_'Then you give me no choice.'_   
Squall then fell to the ground, clutching his head with tears streaming down his face. 

~*~*~*~ 

_A four year old Squall sat beside his best friend's body, which was covered in blood and not moving._   
_ "Krista! Krista! Wake up! We have to go before the p'lice get here," he sniffled, grabbing her shoulder and shaking it._   
_ Suddenly, the sound of trucks hit his ears. He ran to the window and looked out. A Galbadian army truck was there._   
_ Everything in Squall's head screamed at him to run away as fast as he could, that Krista was dead. But the more stubborn part, his heart, would not allow him to leave her. So he sat on the floor next to her and held her hand, which was still a little warm._   
_ "It'll be okay Krista. I won't let them hurt you," he whispered, mostly to himself._   
_ The loud thuds of feet now came to him. They were coming up the stairs._   
_ "What the hell happened here!" the first person, a tall man, thundered._   
_ "Looks like the little girl killed our guy," another said, checking the bloody man on the floor, confirming that he was dead._   
_ "Frig. All he had to do was collect her for the orphanage, and he gets killed. What a wimp," the tall man snarled._   
_ "Well, they're both dead, but who's the kid? I thought there was only one of em' here," the other soldier asked._   
_ "Hmmm... I'm not sure."_   
_ The smaller of the two approached Squall._   
_ "What's your name kid?" he asked, bending his face close down to Squall's and giving him an evil glare that would have sent any kid but Squall running._   
_ "Daemon," he lied, knowing not to give them his real name from what Krista had taught him._   
_ "Daemon. Nope, he's not on our list Dave," the smaller man said, checking a small sheet of paper the he had in his pocket._   
_ "Good. I'd hate to have to give such a pretty one to that shithole orphanage right away anyway," Dave said, smiling reaching a hand down and brushing Squall's long chestnut bangs out of his face._   
_ "Um... okay Captain," the other said, looking away with distaste._   
_ "What? You don't think he is?" Dave asked, fondling a long strand of hair from Squall's thick braid._   
_ "I'm gonna go back to the truck," the soldier replied, heading back out the door and down the stairs._   
_ "Good. I didn't want ya here while I did this anyway," Dave said, looking at Squall with a predatory look on his face._

*** 

Squall was crouched on the ground, clenching his fists and sobbing without restraint.   
_'I told you Squall. Don't get on my bad side. There are things in your memory that could destroy you if you ever relived them. Just do as I tell you and you will be safe.'_   
Squall stopped crying as the horrible memory stopped looping in his head, and then got up and headed for Balamb.   
_'Good Squall. Just remember, I am the only one who can protect you from yourself.'_   
Squall just dumbly nodded and kept on walking. 

***   


Hey people. I know it kinda drags on, but it gets wayyy more exciting in the next chapter. So don't lose faith in me yet! T-T 


	3. Inner Three

Inner Voice3 Disclaimer: I am a poor-ass 15 year old. I don't own anything.   


Inner Voice T-T   


Squall piloted the Ragnarok as slowly as the voice would let him. He did not want to kill Laguna, but he knew he wasn't strong enough to fight the voice in his head.   
_'You are! Fight him!' _an entirely new voice spoke in his head.   
Squall was so surprised he jerked the controls, and narrowly missed crashing into the face of a cliff.   
"Rinoa?" he whispered.   
_'Yes. I'm here, and I believe in you. You can escape him. Everyone and everything has a weakness. You just need to find h...'_   
"Rinoa? Rinoa!" Squall yelled, confused at her abrupt ending.   
_'Never, ever listen to her again. You can't beat me, so don't bother trying.'_   
"What did you do to her?" Squall asked, feeling completely defenseless now without her supporting words.   
_'Never mind. Concentrate on steering.'_   
"Fine," Squall replied, pondering Rinoa's words as he flew through the silent night. 

*** 

"Woah, classy," Zell commented when they stepped through the revolving doors and into the lavishly decorated piano club.   
"Yeah. Isn't this the place Julia used to play?" Irvine asked.   
"Naw, that was in the Deling Hotel," Zell replied.   
"Come on you guys. We'll never find Seifer if all you do is talk," Quistis interrupted, pushing her way past the two dawdling guys and up the stairs to where the pianist and audience were.   
"Do you see him?" Quistis whispered when they had sat down. The music was quite beautiful, but it had a touch of melancholy that made your heart ache.   
"I think... is that him?" Zell said, straining his neck, then standing up when he couldn't see over the heads of the people seated around them.   
"Zell! Sit down!" Irvine whispered harshly, pulling Zell back down into his seat roughly.   
"Don't be rude. We'll see when the song's over," Quistis also whispered, glaring at him.   
"Well _sorry_," Zell said, sulking until the song was over.   
Quistis and Irvine were standing up and clapping enthusiastically when the pianist left the stage.   
"Wow," Quistis said. "She was really good."   
"Yeah," Irvine said, sitting back down.   
"If you two have stopped playing around, I think I saw Seifer," Zell grumbled.   
"Really? Where?" Quistis said, finally paying attention to him.   
"Over there, by the bar," Zell said, pleased he was finally getting noticed.   
"Okay, let's go," Irvine said, walking through the mass of small tables to reach the bar.   
"Is that him?" Quistis said critically as they sat across the bar from the supposed Seifer.   
"I dunno, he kinda looks it. But it's kinda hard to know without seeing his face. If it is Seifer, he grew his hair out some," Irvine said, taking a drink of his lime Coke.   
"Come on dammit! Turn around!" Zell whispered urgently.   
"Zell! People are staring!" Quistis hissed.   
"He's turning around!" Irvine said, stopping the other two's argument in it's tracks.   
Zell crossed his fingers, praying it would be Seifer. He was tired, and wanted to go back to Garden soon. Oh yeah, and the Rinoa thing.   
"Shit!" Irvine said, and the entire group groaned aloud. The supposed Seifer's face was being blocked by a ditzy-looking blond, who had leaned over to flirt with one of the bartenders'.   
"We're gonna have to go over there if we want to see his face. She looks like she's gonna be here for a while," Quistis instructed, slowly moving towards the suspected man.   
Zell and Irvine both followed her slowly, both grinding their teeth at the annoyance of the situation. 

*** 

Squall landed the Ragnarok in Esthar after a short, uneventful trip.   
He slowly walked out of the aircraft and looked at the bright lights of Esthar for a while, before he felt the familiar pain in his head that told him to get moving.   
"All right," he muttered, walking the rest of the way across the barren land to get to the entrance.   
_'Hurry for fuck's sake,' _the voice growled. It was starting to sound more and more like someone he knew, but he just couldn't place his finger on _who_.   
_'Don't Squall!' _Rinoa's voice screamed inside him before he could feel her energy being smothered by the voice.   
"Stop it," Squall commanded as he came closer and closer to Esthar. "I'm doing what you want, leave Rinoa alone."   
For once, the voice said nothing cynical back.   
Squall, being even more scared of the silence than he was of the voice, moved faster. 

*** 

"Umm... what are you doing?" a voice came from behind the slowly moving trio.   
"Wha...?" Quistis started, but trailed off when she saw who was speaking.   
"Hey Quisty, why'd ya st..." Zell also tried to say from in front of Quistis, but was also abruptly stopped by shock when he saw the speaker.   
"SEIFER!" the three gasped loudly, causing half the people in the place to stare at them.   
"That's my name," he said, smirking.   
"We need to talk to you," Quistis finally said after a long and ackward pause.   
"Fine. Ya want to get a table?" Seifer asked, still grinning.   
"Sure," Quistis replied, seeing as the guys were still too shocked to say anything.   
The four headed for a table in the corner which was partially hidden by a large fern.   
"So, what did you guys come here for?" Seifer asked when they had all gotten steaming cups of hot chocolate.   
"Rinoa has been killed," Irvine said.   
Seifer stopped drinking and set his cup down. "She's dead?" he said, staring down into the universe of whipped cream and liquid chocolate that existed within the mug.   
"I'm sorry, but we have been instructed to take you back to Garden for questioning," Quistis said, finishing her beverage quickly in case Seifer tried to run away.   
"Why?! You think _I _did it!" he said angrily.   
"You're the key suspect. I mean, you are the one who had the most reasons to do it," Zell said, coming up from his mug with whipped cream all over his upper lip.   
"And what exactly _are_ those reasons?" Seifer asked icily, glaring at all of them.   
"Well, we weren't told, but if you come back to Garden, I'm sure Headmaster Cid would be happy to explain it all," Quistis said after a moment of thinking. Why _had_ Cid suspected Seifer? It didn't make sense. Maybe he had thought that Seifer was jealous of Rinoa and Squall's relationship. Yes, that must be it.   
Quistis looked at Seifer's expression, and decided to keep her conclusion to herself. He was already mad enough at them.   
"So, will you come?" Irvine asked.   
Seifer sighed, and said, "Fine."   
Thank you. The car is waiting outside," Quistis said, then Irvine, Seifer, and herself got up and left, leaving Zell behind, who was trying to finish his hot chocolate and making quite a large mess doing so. 

*** 

Squall stood over Laguna's bed, watching as he slept, dreading what he was about to do.   
_'NOW!'_   
_ 'No, don't Squall. You don't have to.'_   
"Yes I do," Squall whispered, before loading his gunblade with a silencer, and putting a mute bullet through Laguna's skull.   
The voice didn't say anything, but Squall could almost feel it smiling in his head.   
_'Oh Squall. You didn't have to. You could've fought him. But now you've just made him stronger.'_   
_ 'That's right. I'm stronger. You will never get away from me Leonhart.'_   
The voice had gotten louder, and now sounded even more like the person who was on the very tip of his mind, but he couldn't grasp just _who_ it was.   
"Who are you?" he asked aloud as he walked out of Laguna's mansion.   
_'You will know soon. I have one more job for you tonight. Ellone lives just a street away.'_   
"Please no," Squall whispered, walking along the dimly lit streets. 

*** 

See! Rinoa's death was not for nothing all you flamers! T-T   
  



	4. Inner Four

Inner Voice4 Disclaimer: If you've read any other chapters, you get my drift   
  


Inner Voice T-T   


"So, what has been going on in Garden since I left?" Seifer asked, trying not to feel nauseous as the car bumped along the dirt road.   
"Nothing much," Irvine replied.   
"Yes there has been!" Zell objected, jumping up in his excitement.   
"What then?" Irvine asked, sounding bored.   
"Well, they made a huge change at the cafeteria," Zell said, waiting a second to build suspense.   
"Oh _Zell_! No one but you made such a huge deal that they sell chili dogs instead of hot dogs now!" Quistis said from the front.   
"Well, it's a big change for people who care about what they are eating. I mean, look at those chili dogs! There's so much stuff on em ya don't know what you're getting! Nah, they shoulda stuck with hot dogs. With them you know exactly what you're putting in your body," Zell said solemnly while everyone around him snickered.   
"Sure Zell," Seifer said, trying to contain an outburst of laughter.   
"Hey guys, we're almost there," Quistis said.   
"Great, I can't take much more of this bumping without puking," Seifer said.   
Quistis sped the car up a little as they reached the final turn that would get them to Garden. She wanted to see how Squall was doing, because she knew he couldn't really be taking the news so easy inside. She knew him too well.   
At least, she thought she did.   
As they rounded the last bend, a horrified silence fell over the passengers of the small green rental car. 

*** 

Squall staggered down the streets, sobbing with desperation.   
"Please, don't make me kill her," he whispered, when he was standing outside her front door, and had run out of tears to shed.   
_'You won't have to.'_   
"What?" Squall said, almost daring to believe.   
_'It won't be you.'_ the voice said.   
Suddenly, Squall felt a strange feeling coming over him, and everything grew dim, then, blacked out. 

*** 

_A figure creeps along in the shadows the moonlight threw across the nicely furnished room, adorned with antiques that looked expensive, to say the least._   
_ The figure steps into the milky moonlight, smiling to itself. We see it is a man, looking no older than twenty. He looks oddly familiar. That disarrayed hair, the way he moves. We have seen those features somewhere before._   
_ The familiar stranger stops for a second, listening for any sounds coming from the door he has stopped in front of._   
_ Nothing._   
_ Again, a cold smirk sweeps across the man's face. He slowly opens the door, getting ready to flee if need be._   
_ Still, no movement from the figure laying asleep on the silk draped bed._   
_ The figure seems to think it safe, and goes closer._   
_ No movement._   
_ No movement._   
_ A flash. Something metal reflected off the moonlight that soaks the room._   
_ A small sound, no louder than a whisper._   
_ The figure leaves, smiling no longer, but with an odd look of satisfaction on his face._   
_ Leaving a young girl on the bed, looking beautiful in her serenity, if you ignored the pool of blood spreading across the expensive bedspread._

*** 

When Squall emerged from the blackness, he was back in Ragnarok, and back in Balamb.   
He slumped backwards against the seat.   
"Was that all... just a dream?" he whispered, praying that would be exactly what it would be. Just a dream. A dream, spawned from his twisted mind.   
He turned and looked out the window.   
Garden stood there, in all it's magnificence.   
Squall let out a long breath of relief and opened the door of the ship, walking down the ramp that led outside.   
A few minutes later, he was at his dorm room door. He opened it.   
Everything was just as he had left it.   
He threw himself down on the bed and buried his face in the softness of his favorite pillow. Everything was okay.   
"It is, it is, it is," he mumbled, before drifting off to sleep. 

*** 

Quistis's eyes widened, and she shook her head and closed them.   
"This, this can't be happening," she said under her breath. 

*** 

Sorry it was so short. And the plot is gonna be really messed up from here. I just finished watching Perfect Blue, so my mind is kinda warped. T-T 


	5. Inner Five

Inner Voice5 After reading several e-mails, I have decided to make the following fact clear: YES I know Raine died when she gave birth to Squall, but in my story she was killed when he was 2 years old by soldiers. AND he lived with and older child named Krista till he was 4.   
  
  


InNer Voice T-T   


Squall mumbled incoherently in his sleep as he dreamed. 

*** 

For a few hour-long moments after, all the passengers stood in silence, trying to escape the horrible truth that was all-too quickly dawning on them.   
"Okay. Um, I don't really like what Squall has done with the place, but then again, he never really had a good sense of style," Seifer said, trying to grin, but finding he couldn't at the stricken looks on everyone's faces.   
For a few more hour long seconds the other occupants of the car were still completely silent.   
"Well, let's go see what happened," Quistis said, masking her grief and getting out of the car.   
"Yeah," Irvine said, following.   
Seifer also left the vehicle, taking a glance back at Zell, who was still sitting there with his hands trembling and a sick look on his face.   
Seifer decided that it was best for him to be left alone till he felt like coming out. Zell was never as good at masking his emotions as the rest of them.   
Quistis walked quickly over to what used to be the proud, beautiful Balamb Garden. Now, it was a heap of blackened and still gently smoking debris.   
"Hey Quistis! There's some people over here!" Irvine yelled from the other side of the wreck.   
Quistis and Seifer hurried over to where Irvine was standing with about twenty people.   
"Xu!" she said, relieved to see a farmiliar face.   
Xu smiled at her shakily.   
"Hey," she said.   
Quistis looked among the huddled group again, searching for more comrades.   
Suddenly, she turned and closed her eyes, taking in a shuddering voice.   
"What?" Irvine asked, coming up beside her.   
"Squall's not here," she said in a tiny voice.   
Irvine bit the side of his mouth. He too had noticed this, but didn't believe that Squall, Commander of Balamb's SeeD, could really die in a stupid fire, even though many other fine SeeD's and cadets had.   
"Don't worry," Irvine said, giving her an entirely fake grin. "It would take more than a gay-ass fire to kill that dude, he's tough."   
Quistis tried to smile back at him, but knew that it fell flat as soon as it hit her face. She hoped, more than anything, that he was right. 

*** 

Squall woke, stretching his arms and wondering why he was so cold, and why his back hurt.   
He rubbed his eyes and took a look around.   
He was lying on a set of steps in the outskirts of Esthar. The sun was just starting to show over the horizon, but mostly the sky remained a cornflower blue.   
"What?" he asked groggily, loking all around him once more.   
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he was wide awake.   
_'I can't be here. It was in my dream, I can't really be here. My dream. Laguna! No! He isn't dead, I must still be asleep. Yeah, I'm just sleeping. I din't kill Rinoa, or do anything. Just sleep again Squall, I want to wake up from this nightmare.'_   
Squall closed his eyes and tried to relax. For a while, he drifted off, and thought of nothing, and in the back of his subconcious, he was sure he was asleep.   
_'GET UP SQUALL!!! IT'S NEARLY DAWN!!!' _his soldiers training shreiked at him.   
Squall sighed inwardly and wondered, for the millionth time, why he had ever wanted to be a soldier in the first place.   
He opened his eyes, and they widened in horror.   
The sun was putting on a spectacular show of colors and clouds, but Squall didn't notice, because he was still in Esthar.   
His breathing became ragged and shallow, and his hands started to tremble uncontrollably.   
_'That's right Squall. You're still here. Which means, the rest wasn't a dream, just what you thought was realityturned out fake. You really did kill them. You killed them, you killed them, YOU killed them!!! YOU KILLED them!!! YOU KILLED THEM!!!' _the horrible voice taunted and screamedinside his head, until he clamped his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to shut it out, but it was on the wrong side of his hands, he would never quiet it.   
But underneath the cruel voice, there was another. Not as loud, but just as insistent.   
_'Don't listen Squall. You'll beat him,' _Rinoa said softly.   
"How? HOW?!" Squall screamed in desperation.   
_'If I tell you, it won't work. You have to figure it out for yourself. It's not as powerful as it seems. You must _discover it's identity_,' _she said, before leaving his mind to the control of the voice, who was still shouting, but now, sounded just a little worried under all it's cruelty. 

*** 

Iya! I'm finally done this dumb chapter! For how short it is, it certainly took me a long time. T-T   
  
  
  
  



End file.
